My pre-Episcopal Church experience didn't do much with the prescribed lectionary readings. (During my college years, the pastor of my church devoted five years to preaching the book of Romans.) And I know that the prescribed readings were put together by a committee many years ago—they are not responding to our daily current events. I'm fascinated by the theme of today's readings. First, we have Psalm 71, which includes an elaborate plea to God not to forget the believer, who is now an old man with grey hair. Next, there's Judges 4:4-23, which begins with Deborah as the judge over Israel (the highest human authority). She decides that the Israelites need to go to war, summons Barak, and gives him the battle plans. The war goes well, and the enemy flees. Sisera, the enemy general, flees, and takes refuge in the tent of Jael, wife of one of the lower leaders of the Israelites. She shelters him, and when he finally drifts off to sleep, she puts a tent peg through his templ